Jobs performed by
lay ministers are often highly skill-based, requiring theological knowledge or counseling experience.
These three categories of ministers--ordained, rostered
lay ministers, and ministers in daily life--are what will occupy us in the three days of this conference, as they will continue to occupy us when we return home to the mass and mission in our home towns and in the world.
A GREATER use of
lay ministers is among the topics for discussion as 700 members of Britain's United Reformed Church gather at the University of Warwick for a general assembly.
Frank Pavone with the enthusiastic support and encouragement of the late John Cardinal O'Connor to help Catholic clergy,
lay ministers, and local pro-life leaders learn how to best present and articulate Pope John Paul II's call to re-establish a "Culture of Life" in America.
Exodus' goal is to convince gays and lesbians that they can reverse their sexual orientation through prayer and acceptance of Christian mandates against sexual "sin." There is no telling how many gays and lesbians have consulted Exodus' referral service and submitted themselves to counseling by
lay ministers who have themselves "overcome a homosexual past." Much of Exodus' counseling is geared toward the bereaved parents of adult children hopelessly lost to the "homosexual life-style."
While asking a priest to show his "celebret" would be helpful in proving their authenticity, he said this may not be applicable to mere
lay ministers.
While the archbishop was firm on prohibiting priests from joining police operations, he said
lay ministers could join the police, if they wanted to.
While attempts have been made to address the changed landscape,
lay ministers still fall into what I consider not only a wage gap, but a lifetime resource gap.
When Bassett learned that the church wanted more
lay ministers, she asked Smith about it but was also asking, "What would people say about an Indian being a
lay minister?" Smith says she assured Bassett that "God takes anyone who is willing to carry the gospel." Later, Bassett decided she wanted to be a deacon; she was ordained one in 2009.
The question of how in our day to call forth new
lay ministers is increasingly important.
Recognizing the growing importance of the activities of
lay ministers in the church, Rypma has put together this collection of scriptural passages to aid their delivery of religious truth and to increase the bond of love between them, the church and their service to others.
As a result, today the faithful suffer from the proliferation of so-called
lay ministers of Holy Communion, among other grotesque abuses".
